Opening day for the Jays is next Tuesday.  Opening day for most teams is next Monday.  The Jays have four games left in Florida and two in Philadelphia as they make their way back to Toronto.  The roster is now getting clearer:

Brett Lawrie will start the season on the DL.

The Jays will likely start the season with an 8 man bullpen.  The Jays think it will be easier to get Jeremy Jeffress through waivers a week into the season than it will be just before opening day.

Henry Blanco has made the roster, Josh Thole is headed to Buffalo.

Brad Lincoln has also been optioned to Buffalo, he has been nursing a sore shoulder.

Back in the earliest days of the Cheer Club, we had a thing called the Hall of Dubious Achievements.

Having our "HEY PHIL, EJECT THIS" sign ejected from the Rogers Centre. Irritating the Yankee pitching staff from all the way up in the 500 level so much that they complained to stadium security. Richard Griffin telling me in person how much he disliked an article about him without realizing I had written the article. These things were the very definition of Dubious Achievements. And now I may have out-dubiously achieved all of our exploits.

I didn't set out to create the World's Worst Fantasy Baseball League. But guys... Oh man, have I ever done a bad thing.

The WBC is over, the Dominican Republic are "World Champions" and the Jays will have all of their players in camp within a day or two.  The Jays have eleven days of spring games left before they head north for the Tuesday home opener.  There are few decisions left to be made, basically the backup catcher and the long man in the bullpen.   Otherwise the roster is set, the starting pitchers are known, the batting lineup is 90% set with second base the one unknown.

Spring training, up to this point, has had as its objective to get the players in shape, particularly the pitchers arms.  Players returning from injury need to be tested.  And roles and responsibilities need to be defined.

This year we have what looks to be our strongest opening day rotation, but is that just hype or is it real?

Here’s a thread to discuss all the latest spring training developments from Dunedin and around the majors while we all anxiously await Canada’s opening match in the World Baseball Classic on Friday afternoon.

Watching Spring Training baseball is a little silly: we're rarely aware of team or player goals, so we can't evaluate their success. But when a team has had such a radical remodelling as the Jays' this offseason, as fans we can't help but be desperate to see them in action.

Today at 1:05, the Jays face off against the Phillies. It's a great game for new-Jay spotting: R.A. Dickey will start, followed by Josh Johnson a handful of innings later. The game will be televised, radioized and internetized, so tune in whatever way floats your boat. I'll see if I can convince my kids to watch with me. Maybe I'll bribe them with chips or popcorn.

My right shoulder is so restless it hurts, I'm giving Yahoo's fantasy baseball pages ten thousand hits a day, and my marginal utility from hearing "Centerfield" has been above zero for weeks now. That can only mean one thing. It's time for spring training baseball!

Easily the best thing about February.

Now that spring (training) is here it is time to go over the changes to the Jays roster this past winter.  Who has left, who has come and who is here now?

My copy of the bible arrived in the mailbox — the Baseball America 2013 Prospect Handbook! Texas prospect Jurickson Profar is on the cover.

2012 first round pick D.J. Davis is the highest rated position player in the Jays farm system according to Baseball America.

ESPN's Keith Law has released his Top 10 Prospects list for each American League East club. His top five Blue Jays prospects are pitchers and has seven hurlers rated among his top 10. The Jays did not fare very well in his farm system ranking.


No. 2 and trying harder: Roberto Osuna was Keith Law's number two Blue Jays prospect. The Mexican righty just turned 18 today.

Jack Morris is the new Alan Ashby.  Morris will be the play by play guy on radio and cover on TV when Buck or Tabler are on vacation.

Is this good?  I don't know, has anyone ever heard Jack do analysis?

Meanwhile Sportsnet announced their spring training coverage....six TV games starting February 23rd, and all the games on radio or web.

Ok, ok, I'll admit it: I grin a little bit when A-Rod's name comes up in this stuff. Am I alone?

I'm not sure why. Because he's a Yankee? No, I made an eight foot wide dollar bill with his face on it to heckle him when he was still a Ranger. Because of the absurd amount of money? Well, maybe. And maybe because of the swagger and public persona, or my impression of them.

But I softened a bit when I heard that he had a painting of himself as a Minotaur. Who can't relate to dreams of being a Minotaur?

Now that the 25 man roster is pretty much set (save for 1-3 bullpen slots)  the question becomes who is likely to slump and need replacing and who are the replacements should a player get hurt/be ineffective.

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Vancouver Canadians have agreed to a two-year extension of their Player Development Contract. The original agreement was in effect until 2014 but the two sides agreed to continue their partnership through the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
The Vancouver Canadians have won two Northwest League championships since becoming a Blue Jays affiliate in 2011.